Q: (bozoc) - Can you give us an update on this year's prospective kicking game? How confident should we feel about this part of the team?

A: At this point the kicking game is still fairly wide open. The place-kicking duties will come down to Ryan Bailey and Hunter Lawrence, with Bailey holding the edge coming into camp because of his consistency. He's probably not going to be asked to covert from 40+ yards very often, but he's very solid under that mark. The punting duties will likely be handled by redshirt freshman Trevor Gerland, but he still has a lot to prove to the staff. Really and truly, each job is still pretty open heading into the fall camp and there's not much that Texas can feel certain about in this phase of the game. In addition to these questions, the staff still needs to find replacements for players like Michael Griffin and Aaron Ross, who were huge special teams standouts in previous years. I think the staff is confident that Larry Mac Duff can help put a top-flight unit together, but this is one aspect of the team has definitely has a ton of questions and few answers at the moment.

A: In talking with various team sources this summer, Brown's name was mentioned constantly as someone that has really improved this summer in seven-on-seven workouts. The hope from everyone associated in the program is that he's ready to step into a role as a starter because his size, athleticism and ball skills are greatly needed, especially if the smaller Brandon Foster ends up starting opposite him. That being said, Brown is going to need to be more consistent on a daily basis to win the job and he's facing some tough competition. The cornerback spots are short on experience and long on numbers right now. As for Carter, it's too early to give a real report. Ask this question again in about two weeks.